HOST:
The stated reason John was here in our time was to obtain
an IBM computer built in 1975 called a 5100. The 5100 does
exist and was manufactured and sold by IBM. It is historically
remembered as one of the first portable computers ever mass-produced
but it arrived before computers were marketed to the public
and quickly passed away in the early eighties.

John
claimed he was related to one of the IBM engineers or programmers
who worked on the 5100 and that's why he was chosen for this
mission. By putting the pieces of his posts together, it appears
he journeyed to Rochester Minnesota in 1975 (where the 5100
was created and manufactured), met with his relative who worked
on the computer, obtained a 5100 from him and had it altered
in some way for use in 2036.

John
mentions that the 5100 had some sort of inbuilt ability to
translate computer languages that was unknown or unpublished
before 2036. The computer would then have been used back in
his time to translate or fix broken computer systems.

Based
on his explanation, it would appear there must have been an
easier way to solve this problem in 2036. If you can travel
in time, why go back for a piece of old technology that we
find useless? This may seem logical until you realize that
even today, NASA scours the Internet looking for old computer
parts to keep their systems running.

What
may be more interesting is the fact that John had a consistent
reason he was willing to discuss for being here at all.

________________

Can
you explain what the purpose of time travel is on your worldline?In
2036, a great deal of effort is going into "repairing"
our environment. I was sent to 1975 to get a computer system
and take it back to 2036. Time travel is not a secret in 2036
and I expect it will become more common.

Why
is time travel used?Right
now, its used to get information or "items" that
would be helpful in getting a post WWIII world back to a normal
condition. There are 7 other time travelers in my unit.

Where
do time travelers the most?Right
now, most of our practical missions are from 1960 to 1980.
There is a great deal of research into later and future periods
but the farther you go, the lower the divergence confidence
of the worldline.

If
you're here to get a computer, why are you are posting on
a message board? I think you're committing treason!Why
would it be treason?

Why
did you go to 1975?The
first "leg" of my trip was from 2036 to 1975. After
two VGL checks, the divergence was estimated at about 2.5%
(from my 2036). I was "sent" to get an IBM computer
system called the 5100. It was one the first portable computers
made and it has the ability to read the older IBM programming
languages in addition to APL and Basic. We need they system
to "debug" various legacy computer programs in 2036.
UNIX has a problem in 2038.

On
my worldline, it is known that the 5100 series is capable
of reading all the IBM code written before the widespread
use of APL and Basic. Unfortunately, there are none left that
anyone can find on my world line.

Technologies
themselves are not lost but some of the older tools and techniques
have been lost. I think there is more detailed information
about the war posted earlier.

When
I leave, I will return to 2036. The computer I have is expected
there.

Earlier
you said something was wrong with the UNIX computer code on
your worldline. What's wrong with it?Yes and
with yours too. I have to believe there must be a UNIX expert
out there someplace that can confirm that. I'm not exactly
sure what the technical issue is but I believe some sort of
UNIX system registry stops in 2038.

I
have a working IBM 5160 computer. Maybe I should stash it
away for thirty years and see what happens.Toss
it. The 5100 is the interesting machine.

As
far as evidence goes, I have however decided to try an experiment
with you that may be more convincing. It involves the travel
of information at faster than light. In fact, I have dropped
at least three little gems like this that no one else has
picked up on.

(HOST:
What other gems has he dropped that no one picked up on?)

You
said you are confused by the 5100 story. I will explain further.
In 2036, it was discovered (or at least known after testing)
that the 5100 computer was capable of reading and changing
all of the legacy code written by IBM before the release of
that system and still be able to create new code in APL and
basic.

That
is the reason we need it in 2036. However, IBM never published
that information because it would have probably destroyed
a large part of their business infrastructure in the early
70s. In fact, I would bet the engineers were probably told
to keep their mouth's shut.

(HOST:
John claims the 5100 had a technical ability built into it
that was unpublished but known by IBM. It would appear this
information was kept quiet because it would have affected
other business IBM was doing. Is it possible the 5100 was
capable of doing something that a much larger or more expensive
machine was already doing at a higher cost?)

Therefore,
if I were not here now telling you this, that information
would not be discovered for another 36 years. Yet, I would
bet there is someone out there who can do the research and
discover I am telling the truth. There must be an old IBM
engineer out there someplace that worked on the 5100. They
just might not have ever asked if I hadn't pointed it out.

(HOST:
Is there an old IBM engineer out there that could confirm
this?)

How
big is the IBM 5100?I
would say its about 20" long, 10" high and 30"
long.

What
do they look for when choosing someone for a mission?Depending
on the mission, time travelers are usually chosen for a particular
mission based on their ability to gain the cooperation of
someone related to the goal on the target worldline. In my
case, my grandfather was directly involved with the building
and programming of the 5100.

(HOST:
How many people built and programmed the 5100 in Rochester
Minnesota? John Titor claims to be the grandson of one of
them.)

It
would seem then that another time traveler that looks like
you could arrive on your worldline of origin with another
IBM computer and no one would know the difference.Bingo!!
Seems like something they would do a lot of psychological
testing for before they sent us off.

What's
the use of bringing back the computer to a slightly different
worldline since you know there are just as many worldlines
in which no-one returns to bring back computer?The
5100 had a very simple and unique feature that IBM did not
account for and decided it was not in their best interest
to advertise (which in hindsight was not very smart). This
accidental feature was thus removed from any future desktop
computers. In order to take advantage of this feature, the
5100 I have now required a couple of special "tweaks"
that had to be done by one of the software engineers in 1975.
Anyone who is familiar with this feature and was told to keep
their mouth shut about it will be able to tell you what it
is.

The
computer is from 1975, Rochester MN.

Based
on what I know about the 5100 (IBM computer), it has a few
very interesting and worthwhile properties that make it worthwhile
for a time traveler to recover. Also, please keep in mind
that civilization is recovering from a war. Yes, we do have
the technology but many of the tools were lost.

As
you are probably aware, UNIX will have a timeout error in
2038 and many of the mainframe systems that ran a large part
of the infrastructure were based on very old IBM computer
code. The 5100 has the ability to easily translate between
the old IBM code, APL, BASIC and (with a few tweaks in 1975)
UNIX. This may seem insignificant but the fact that the 5100
is portable means I can easily take it back to 2036. I do
expect they will create some sort of emulation system to use
in multiple locations.

I
do believe that "your" UNIX will also have a problem
in 2038. I don't think that's a secret but maybe someone should
put a 5100 aside for thirty years or so.

(HOST:
He's not sure if our UNIX will have a problem? Why would that
be? Did something happen that he's aware of that might have
fixed "our" UNIX?)

Yes,
EMP took out a great number of electronic devices. That's
one of the reasons why we don't have reliable technology laying
around. However, in the opening hours of N Day, the Russians
did not launch any high altitude detonations. They knew we
would most likely clean up after them so they wanted everyone
outside the cities to be able to communicate. Most of the
warheads that hit the cities came in threes and exploded close
to the ground. The heavy EMP damage was isolated to those
areas.

Why
were you selected to be a time traveler?I
am related to a key figure in the development of the IBM 5100.

I
find it hard to believe that a software tweak done to a 1975
machine would be enough to justify a time travel mission.
Ah,
something we have in common. Yes, I felt that way too. However,
my job was to go and get it and not debate why they wanted
it. I am not a computer expert.

A
great deal of the computer infrastructure you depend on is
based on very old systems and code. One of the reasons I was
sent to 1975 was because of the person I met there, not the
technology.

There
are more effective ways to accomplish what you claim in this
regard.Perhaps
you would share them with me. You might be right and I could
make your suggestions when I return.

Would
not the computer from 1975 be bigger than the time machine
used to haul it back to 2036?Not
at all. The 5100 series will fit on a tabletop.

IS
THE NUMBER TWO ENGINEER ON THE IBM 5100 CONFIRMING JOHN'S
MISSION?!

Secrets
of the City
Time traveler most likely to be spotted in Rochester

According
to Bob Dubke, the second engineer on IBM's 5100 team in Rochester
(who now co-owns a locally-based company called eXport Ventures
Corp. and also works for Edina Realty), that secret function
was his contribution to the design of the computer. The function,
which IBM suppressed because of worries about how their competition
might use it, was an interface between the assembly code surrounding
the computer's ROM exterior, and the 360 emulator hidden beneath
it. (IBM declined to comment for this story.) The 5100's emulator
gave programmers access to the functions of the monstrous,
and much less portable machines, that IBM had produced during
the 1960s. An imprint of a hook on the outside of the
5100 symbolized the ability of Dubke's interface to drop into
what Titor called "legacy code," and scoop out any
necessary operating instructions.

Software
maker PTC, a specialist in product lifecycle management applications
for engineers and product designers, has rekindled memories
of the Year 2000 bug, or Y2K, as it scrambles to patch a glitch
that will render most of its products inoperable after Jan.
10. Unix itself uses a similar method to resolve dates, but
developers chose an infinity value of 4 billion seconds, the
maximum a 32-bit system can process. That means that most
Unix programs will continue to operate until 2038

After
scanning a few disscussions on other forums, I came across
something
very interesting. Please read the following text written by
John Titor
about the IBM 5100 computer.

JOHN:
On my worldline, it is known that the 5100 series is capable
of
reading all the IBM code written before the widespread use
of APL and Basic.

JOHN:
In 2036, it was discovered (or at least known after testing)
that the
5100 computer was capable of reading and changing all of the
legacy code
written by IBM before the release of that system and still
be able to create
new code in APL and basic. That is the reason we need it in
2036. However,
IBM never published that information because it would have
probably
destroyed a large part of their business infrastructure in
the early 70s. In
fact, I would bet the engineers were probably told to keep
their mouths
shut.

JOHN:
Therefore, if I were not here now telling you this, that information
would not be discovered for another 36 years. Yet, I would
bet there is
someone out there who can do the research and discover I am
telling the
truth. There must be an old IBM engineer out there someplace
that worked on
the 5100. They just might not have ever asked if I hadn't
pointed it out.

JOHN:
The 5100 has the ability to easily translate between the old
IBM code,
APL, BASIC and (with a few tweaks in 1975) UNIX. This may
seem insignificant but the fact that the 5100 is portable
means I can easily take it back to 2036. I do expect they
will create some sort of emulation system to use in multiple
locations.

Now
consider the following post from a forum on John. The discussion
ends with a letter from an apparent IBM engineer who developed
the 5100. His response was given after a forum member sent
him an email about John's statements and it appears to confirm
what he said! If this is a hoax, could this IBM engineer be
John? Or, could this be the person John was sent to find?

"The
5100 did not have a true operating system. Any similarity
to one was provided by the "keyboard" code. It also
provided for some basic debug things and of course it had
its share of "hooks" to do other things. There were
two emulators provided, a System 34 emulator for the Basic
language, and a System 360 emulator for executing the APL
interactive language.

One
hook that was never documented for external IBM users was
one for
launching programs, written in the System 360 machine language,
from APL. I
personally used this hook for manipulating large arrays because
it was faster and reduced memory requirements. APL has a habit
of creating multiple copies of a variable while manipulating
it.